Brett Daniel Tomko (born April 7, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees,

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, Texas Rangers, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Early life

Tomko was born in Euclid, Ohio, but moved to southern California when he was three years old. Tomko attended El Dorado High School in

Placentia, California Placentia () is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population was 51,233 during the 2020 census, up from 46,488 in the 2000 census. This includes the community of Atwood, which is included in the city of Placentia, and is loca ...

, and was a letter winner in basketball and baseball.

College years

Tomko attended

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

for one season in , leading the team to the NCAA Division II National Championship against

Georgia College Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GC) is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia. The university enrolls approximately 7,000 students and is a member of the University System of Georgia and the Council ...

. He went 15–2 with a 1.35

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

and struck out 154 batters in 126.3 innings that season, with opponents

hitting A strike is a directed physical attack with either a part of the human body or with an inanimate object (such as a weapon) intended to cause blunt trauma or penetrating trauma upon an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes. A ...

just .180 against him. He pitched two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutouts in the Championship Series, including one in the final game, earning him the Tournament's "outstanding player" award. In addition, he won both the NCAA Division II Pitcher and Player of the Year Awards by the American Baseball Coaches Association. In 2014, the NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year Award was renamed the Brett Tomko Award in his honor.

Draft and minor league years

Tomko had been drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round of the draft, but chose to attend college at

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

(Walnut, California) for a year. In 1995, he was drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds. He signed with the Reds on June 28, 1995. He pitched for three years in the Reds minor league system, making stops at

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

in 1995,

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

in (where he was named the Reds' top prospect by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

) and

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

in before getting called up to the Major Leagues during the season.

Major League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds

Tomko made his first Major League appearance, and first Major League

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

, against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on May 27, 1997. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 runs while taking the loss in the Reds 2–1 defeat. He got his first victory in his next start on June 6, against the New York Mets. He pitched 6 innings, gave up one run and struck out seven in the Reds 5–2 victory. Tomko was 3rd for the Reds in his rookie 1997 season in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) with 3.0. He remained in the Reds starting rotation for three seasons, though spending some time as a reliever during a more difficult 1999 campaign.

Seattle Mariners

He was traded on February 10, , to the Seattle Mariners, along with Antonio Pérez, Jake Meyer, and Mike Cameron for

Ken Griffey Jr. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

Seattle used him primarily as a reliever and spot starter during the next two seasons. He also spent some time with Seattle's Triple-A team in Tacoma in both 2000 & .

San Diego Padres

On December 11, 2001, the Mariners traded Tomko (along with Ramón Vázquez, Tom Lampkin and cash) to the San Diego Padres in exchange for

Wascar Serrano Wascar Radames Serrano (born June 2, 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres in 2001. After pitching in 2003 for ...

, Alex Arias and Ben Davis. He returned to the starting rotation with San Diego, making 32 starts, his most since with the Reds.

St. Louis Cardinals

He was traded again, almost exactly a year later (December 15, ) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Wodnicki and Luther Hackman. Tomko won 13 games in his only season in St. Louis. His solid winning record was in spite of leading the league giving up earned runs.

San Francisco Giants

He signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent prior to the season and pitched with them for two seasons. His 2004 season was very good, garnering a 2.6 WAR and a .611 winning percentage. Tomko's tenure with the Giants effectively ended when the team declined to offer him salary arbitration before the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 21, , he agreed to a two-year contract worth a reported $8.7 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched both as a starter and a reliever during his two seasons in Los Angeles. During his time with the Dodgers, Tomko's poor pitching and propensity to give up home runs led to Dodger fans giving him the nickname "Bombko". He was designated for assignment on August 24, , after a poor season with the Dodgers in which he went 2–11 with a 5.80 ERA in 33 games (15 starts).

San Diego Padres (second stint)

After being designated for assignment by the Dodgers, he was signed by the San Diego Padres on September 4, 2007.

Kansas City Royals

On January 20, , he signed with the

. On June 12, 2008, the Royals designated Tomko for assignment and on June 20, 2008, he was released.

San Diego Padres (third stint)

He signed with the San Diego Padres on June 27, 2008, but was released on September 1.

New York Yankees

On February 13, 2009, the New York Yankees signed Tomko to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He began the season with Triple-A Scranton. He was called up by the Yankees on May 9. Tomko was designated for assignment on July 21, 2009, to make room on the roster for

Sergio Mitre Sergio Armando Mitre (born February 16, 1981) is a Mexican-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees. In 2022, he was se ...

. He criticized the Yankees for not using him enough, despite his excellent spring training and minor league numbers, and said his 5.25 ERA was due to a lack of use. He was released on July 29.

Oakland Athletics

He then signed with the

. On August 17, 2009, Tomko defeated the Yankees in his first start for Oakland. Tomko got his 100th career win with Oakland, however he injured his arm during the game. He resigned with Oakland during the 2009-2010 offseason and rehabbed with the Sacramento River Cats.

Texas Rangers

On February 19, 2011, the Texas Rangers signed Tomko to a minor league contract with no invitation to spring training. On April 20, the Rangers purchased his contract from the minors and called him up. He was outrighted to Triple-A on May 27. After the 2011 season, he elected for free agency.

Later years

On February 19, 2012, Tomko signed a minor league contract with the

worth $480,000. On August 2, 2012, Tomko was released by the Reds. Tomko was 0–6 with a 3.78 ERA in 12 starts with Triple-A Louisville. In a rehab start with the

Arizona League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

, he lasted 1.1 innings, giving up eight runs (seven earned) off of nine hits. Tomko signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 14, 2012. He was assigned to the Double-A Mobile BayBears. On August 24, Tomko was called up to the Reno Aces. In March 2013, Tomko signed a contract with the York Revolution of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He retired in August and joined the

organization as a scout. On March 14, 2014, Tomko agreed to a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. On June 3, Tomko was released by the Royals. Tomko signed a minor league deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

on June 10, 2014.

Personal life

Tomko married ''Playboy'' Playmate

Julia Schultz Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

(February 1998) in November 2003, and they have twin boys. Tomko is an artist. As of 2017, he was training with famous sports artist Opie Otterstad. Tomko's father won a contest of over 11,000 entries in '' The Plain Dealer'' for naming the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

NBA team. His entry described the name ''Cavaliers'' as "a group of daring, fearless men whose life's pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomko, Brett 1973 births Living people American people of Slovak descent People from Euclid, Ohio Baseball players from Cleveland Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Seattle Mariners players San Diego Padres players St. Louis Cardinals players San Francisco Giants players Los Angeles Dodgers players Kansas City Royals players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Texas Rangers players Mt. SAC Mounties baseball players Florida Southern Moccasins baseball players Charleston AlleyCats players Chattanooga Lookouts players Indianapolis Indians players Tacoma Rainiers players Fresno Grizzlies players Las Vegas 51s players Portland Beavers players Lake Elsinore Storm players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Sacramento River Cats players Arizona League Athletics players Stockton Ports players Round Rock Express players Louisville Bats players Arizona League Reds players Mobile BayBears players Reno Aces players York Revolution players Omaha Storm Chasers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic